Was this Djokovic 2.5 today?

In some spots, he was redlining. Totally in the zone and relentless. Looked seriously in scary form and forcing Nadal to hit errors. Nadal was losing the baseline rallies percentage (rallies over 10 shots) by a considerable margin...at Monte Carlo of all places! :shock:

Both have played much higher quality matches against each other. I still think their Miami 2011 final clash was the best non slam match I have seen between them. Closely followed by that epic in Madrid in 09.

Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.

The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.

Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.

The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.

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Erm he hit 25 winners on a clay court which is more than just consistent, and he does not have problems with a heavy ball where do you get this stuff from really.

Erm he hit 25 winners on a clay court which is more than just consistent, and he does not have problems with a heavy ball where do you get this stuff from really.

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he got a lot of short balls from nadal, which is where the great majority of those winners come from. also, nadal wasn't serving well.

it's clear to anyone who watched the match without NoleGoggles on that he gets on defense against Nadal when Nadal is hitting with depth (i.e. a heavy ball) rather than short balls. The 2nd set had numerous examples of this difference when compared to the first set where Rafa was hitting mostly short balls... hence the dramatic difference in scorelines between teh sets. This was also clear in RG when rain had caused Rafa to hit with less spin and depth (i.e. less heavy ball).

What do you attribute the difference between the two sets to? also, did you watch the full match?

he got a lot of short balls from nadal, which is where the great majority of those winners come from. also, nadal wasn't serving well.

it's clear to anyone who watched the match without NoleGoggles on that he gets on defense against Nadal when Nadal is hitting with depth (i.e. a heavy ball) rather than short balls. The 2nd set had numerous examples of this difference when compared to the first set where Rafa was hitting mostly short balls... hence the dramatic difference in scorelines between teh sets. This was also clear in RG when rain had caused Rafa to hit with less spin and depth (i.e. less heavy ball).

What do you attribute the difference between the two sets to? also, did you watch the full match?

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I watched it alright and obviously Nadal raised his level with more depth but even with the depth Djoker hit agressive and especially towards the end hit through Nadal like for the final point of the match where Djoker hit a winner from BEHIND the baseline did you see that?

In the first set, up to 5-0 and countless bagel points he had, he played really really well. It was (it almost always is) a combination of Nadal being a bit tense and Djokovic feeling boss.

The second set was totally different, a real battle. Nadal started to hit deeper and to be more patiente, and in some periods, he was moving Djokovic around the court (who btw defended great), and he was 6-5 up and serve to win the second set.

From that point till the end, Djokovic got on fire and hit many aggresive winners that shocked Nadal.

Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.

The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.

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Seriously? That match was totally on Djokovic's racquet...not even close to being on Rafa's racquet. If he kept his foot on the gas and didn't let down/ it would have been 6-0, 6-2. Nole's best is better than Rafa's best because he can pick on Rafa's backhand. Rafa played very close to his best at times. The reason he makes more errors against Nole is because he has to hit harder and take more chances with his backhand than he likes to.

Seriously? That match was totally on Djokovic's racquet...not even close to being on Rafa's racquet. If he kept his foot on the gas and didn't let down/ it would have been 6-0, 6-2. Nole's best is better than Rafa's best because he can pick on Rafa's backhand. Rafa played very close to his best at times. The reason he makes more errors against Nole is because he has to hit harder and take more chances with his backhand than he likes to.

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This, I have been trying to school this guy in what djoker is about but he is biased.

he got a lot of short balls from nadal, which is where the great majority of those winners come from. also, nadal wasn't serving well.

it's clear to anyone who watched the match without NoleGoggles on that he gets on defense against Nadal when Nadal is hitting with depth (i.e. a heavy ball) rather than short balls. The 2nd set had numerous examples of this difference when compared to the first set where Rafa was hitting mostly short balls... hence the dramatic difference in scorelines between teh sets. This was also clear in RG when rain had caused Rafa to hit with less spin and depth (i.e. less heavy ball).

What do you attribute the difference between the two sets to? also, did you watch the full match?

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Get over yourself. Do you do anything on this forum other than patronize people?

One can easily make the argument that it was you who watched this match with Nadgoggles on the whole time.

I suggest you read the disclaimer in your own signature and then reassess the level of your tennis knowledge. Clearly, a guy who thinks Nadal has "two forehands" should not be talking down to other tennis fans for not having adequate knowledge about tennis.

Nadal was hitting short during the entire first set. Was tense and that's why he was attackable. Once he started getting loose and hitting deep, Novak could only retrieve balls and hope for errors. Still finds it difficult to deal with such a heavy ball.

The match was on Rafa's racquet. Novak was pretty consistent throughout, but didn't do anything new or remarkable that he hasn't done in the past, the only issue was Nadal being uncharacteristically tight in the first set and then again at the tie break of the 2nd set.

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I am not a huge fan of Djokovic, but I don't mind him either. As such I must tell you to stop selling this crap, seriously. I like you as a poster, you are normally pretty unbiased, but these posts containing all this garbage means you are only doing a disservice to yourself. I seen your posts in the match thread. You obviously wanted Nadal to win. That's fine, but don't try to sell me this whole "the match was on Nadal's racquet bit." Your bias is showing. It was the pretty far from being on Nadal's racquet tbh. Quite the opposite IMHO.

Getting tight in crucial moments happens and Nadal is known to drop the ball short when this happens. In case you've forgotten the start of the match (before Nadal loosened up as you termed it) is just as important as any other part of the match. It sounds as if you are trying to take credit away from Novak in a relatively subtle way.

And btw, when Nadal did "loosen up" Djokovic did not hope for errors, he stood toe to toe with Nadal and broke back twice which included one of the best return games I've ever seen at 5-6. Then by the time Nadal started making errors in the TB it was 3-1 mini break to Djokovic. Not over, but certainly with Djokovic in position to win.

i'm not trying to take anything away from novak. he played well and executed his game, but it is a disservice to him to suggest that somehow he has never played at this level before and that this was a once in a lifetime 2.5 level performance, especially when one considers the actual tennis played and not just glancing at the scoreline and knowledge of Nadal's historical wins at Monaco.

To paraphrase Berdych... "well i just hope you're not comparing [him] with Rosol, don't you, or do you?"

I don't understand what you guys attribute the difference in set scorelines to, if not to Rafa's level?

you have your opinion, i have mine.

Cheers

P.S. Yeah, I like Rafa and was rooting for him to win, never denied that. He lost fair and square, but it is clear to me why and how he lost. It wasn't to a new Novak, just the same djoker who won aussie open and dubai and who lost to delpo at Indian Wells and to haas at miami. same level not some magical 2.5 EX plus Turbo version...

I think Novak played very well yesterday. He was crushing balls left and right and that deep, heavy ball to Nadal's backhand gave him a taste of his own medicine. Whenever there was an opening Novak struck hard DTL and Nadal was scrambling to get those shots. Nadal did not play very well at the beginning of the first set not because he was in poor form, but because he was getting used to the rhythm and Djokovic's monster form. Sure, there were some concentration lapses here and there from Djokovic, but overall they didn't hurt his winning chances. Nadal upped his game in the second, but whenever he broke, he couldn't capitalize; his serve was too weak to be a threat.

In some spots, he was redlining. Totally in the zone and relentless. Looked seriously in scary form and forcing Nadal to hit errors. Nadal was losing the baseline rallies percentage (rallies over 10 shots) by a considerable margin...at Monte Carlo of all places! :shock: